Manhunt Memories

Manhunt Memories


I still get an adrenaline rush when I think about a comfortably hot summer
evening at my friend Steve’s house. We had known each other for forever and when it
came to having fun, no one could do it better than we could.

To prepare for the evening, I would have to wear black and my most worn and
comfy pair of sneakers. I had a little ritual that I would faithfully carry out each time I
had to do this. Sweatpants or dark blue jeans always went on first. Then came sneakers
that were tied so tight that my toes would go numb. Finally, the most important thing
was my black hooded sweatshirt that was the most essential piece of equipment for the
night ahead.

What would I need to do all this for? Manhunt! The most exciting outdoor
nighttime game I have ever played. Kids matched wits, speed, creativity, and stealth to
outsmart each other in a game of hide and go seek taken to an entirely new level. It had
become the ultimate neighborhood sport for kids like us, and we played Manhunt with a
fervent passion and unquestionable skill.

Steve and I had turned Manhunt from game to legend on little old Lucky Hollow
Drive. After all, Lucky Hollow Drive was perfect for Manhunt; it was a seldom used dead end with two escape routes. One to the park, (but no one would go into there because of the bats), and the second would take us the next dead end street by cutting across someone’s backyard to get to a long wooden picket fence. There were plenty of dark corners and literally thousands of hiding places from neighbors or players in the game.

Tonight conditions were perfect. It was just dark enough at 10:30, and it wasn’t so
ridiculously hot that we could barely breathe. As an added bonus, the whole team had showed up tonight. Let’s see, there was, Steve, Jake, George, Kyle, Jake’s little sister, my little brother, Steve’s older sister Gina and myself. We called ourselves the Lucky Hollow Eight.

At about nine Steve had called everybody so now that everyone had
shown up it was time to go to work. Steve and I stood up and walked towards the group
of kids who were eagerly waiting in the street. They parted the way as we sauntered regally through the group and then sternly turned around at the head to begin the preliminaries.

You see, Steve and I were kind of heroes in Manhunt Lore. The other kids held us
in a sort of awe. Steve was a really good hider and could hop any fence in the
neighborhood, while I was the fastest and the quietest hider, or seeker. Steve was the
leader and I was his second in command. We had to choose captains of the teams now
and like usual they were Kyle and Jake.

As a rule, Steve and I couldn’t be on the same team so when people were chosen
to play, we were always set against each other. The team line-up was pretty much the
regulars. On Jake’s team there was George, Steve, and my little brother. On Kyle’s team
there was Jake’s little sister, Gina and myself.

Rocks! Paper! Scissors! Shoot! We would be hiding first. They would be
counting. The preliminaries were over and this is when things really began to get
exciting. We had thirty seconds to find the perfect hiding place.

There was a space about six inches wide between two chain link fences that had
those little plastic strips put through them making a sort of screen. I chose that
as my hiding spot. It was far enough from base but not so far that it would cut my
chances of getting back to base and decrease the possibility of Lucky Hollow Drive’s killer asphalt taking a chunk outta me.

The hiding spot did have its bad points. There was only one way out and if
someone saw me in there I would not be able to escape. I would have to be so quiet that
they couldn’t even begin to believe I was there. Plus it was cramped, six inches wide and
the only thing to crouch on was a wooden garden border.

“GET READY WE’RE COMING!” I heard from way down the street. The game
had officially started. This was the nerve-racking waiting part of this game followed by
the adrenaline rush as you sprint for base.

As I took tiny quiet breaths and saved my energy, I heard shouts and laughing as
others had been found. For five minutes no one came near my spot. I began to think that
maybe I should sprint for base and try my luck but then I heard footsteps.

It was Steve. I always loved having him against me especially when it was the
running part. We two battle-hardened, knee-scarred players always had a blast when our skills were equal for one night.

“I see you, Scarlet!” He said loudly. I didn’t stir. It was a bluff, a common
occurrence in the game. Steve and I both used the tactic to get the other players to come
out of their hiding spots.

I heard him sigh and begin to walk away. Now I decided was the time to make my
move. A lump in my throat was rising and I could feel my pulse beating like a gigantic
drum in my head. I broke from the hiding spot like a horse in a starting block and
sprinted past Steve who looked up and gave chase.

This was the moment of truth, the part I always looked forward to. I swerved this
way and that to my ultimate goal, the telephone pole that had been elected base. I looked
behind me, and saw that now I had two pursuers. When I looked forward there was a
third coming from the front. He would reach me first. He reached out as if to give me a
hug but what he wanted was to put his deathly coils around my arms and hold onto my
sweat shirt for three little seconds. Nope! I wouldn’t let him do it!

I ducked and swerved out of his way. Base was a lot closer now and we had two
people on base. Steve had caught up and now it was a game of “How many times can you
run around the same car?” As I passed the champagne colored Volvo for the sixth time I
broke free from the cycle and Steve followed. There was a stalemate, Steve and I looked
back at each other panting. Any way I would go he could cut me off. I had to run the
gauntlet of pursuers that had arrived. Jake tripped and fell. This was my opportunity.
With a burst of energy I spun past Steve, hopped over Jake, dodged my little brother and
slid past George and into base. We won!

Being the winning player (victory was decided by how many players got to base) it was my job to check the casualties’ list. I had two scraped knees and cuts down my legs. Steve had gotten a cut while hopping a fence, Jake and my little brother had each scraped a knee and a hand. George had gotten whacked in the face by a low tree branch he hadn’t seen and Kyle had bashed up his wrists and elbows. Gina and Jake’s sister were the only ones who weren’t hurt…but Jake’s sister had been caught and Gina didn’t run anywhere. I looked around as we panted in silence for a moment, grinned and said,

“Everyone up for another round?”